Joey Feek Sees Longtime Birthday Wish Come True

Joey Feek of Joey + Rory saw one of her long-cherished dreams come to life when she celebrated her 40th birthday on Monday (Sept. 7).

Joey was recently diagnosed with Stage IV cervical cancer, just a year after undergoing surgery in her first cancer battle. She had surgery again in July, and she is currently undergoing intensive and very draining chemotherapy and radiation.

But she and her husband took a break from her treatments to return to their farm in Tennessee to celebrate her birthday surrounded by family and friends ... and one big surprise for her.

"When Joey was in her early teens growing up back in Indiana, she had a horse named Velvet that she loved so much," Rory writes in his blog, This Life I Live. That horse passed away when she was 16.

"Joey’s talked about getting another horse for years and has dreamed of owning one again, but she is so incredibly responsible that it just never made any sense for her or us to have one… our life was too busy, and we didn’t have room, and hay is expensive, and lots of other really good reasons," he continues. "I’m not sure it makes any more sense today … but I think sometimes that life doesn’t have to make sense. And it might not seem like the best timing, but it is. Because the best time to love someone and make their dreams come true is today. Right now. So, after 24 years of waiting and hoping, Joey got a horse for her birthday."

He adds that they were actually given two horses, so her horse will have a companion, and so that he can ride with his wife when she is feeling stronger after treatments.

"So it looks like some guy in bib overalls may have to learn to be a cowboy for his cowgirl," Rory says.

The couple have returned to Georgia to resume her treatments, but they've been making another dream of Joey's come true, working on an album of gospel favorites in a makeshift studio between rounds of chemo.